NPS making me very uncomfortable

I just got back from the week end and I have to say I saw more water police then ever . Not that I am doing any thing illigel , but having them drive by checking me and ever one out just looking for any thing to stop you was very uncomfortable . as we all know they generally will find some thing. I must have seen 4 boats out there from Bullfrog bay to forgotten canyon on Sunday every one has a job to do I understand but it seems like they are out of control, Does any one else have the same feeling . On another note it seems like this past weekend was the busiest one of the whole summer why more people then on the 4th or memorial ,

it seems like this past weekend was the busiest one of the whole summer

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A lot of people see Labor Day as their "last chance" to get on the lake for the season. There really aren't any other holidays that are still warm enough during the fall. And if you have kids in school (K-12 and/or college) it's tough to get everyone together. Sometimes "fall break" works out. The air temp is usually nice but the water has started to cool off.

On the NPS front, it's a mixed bag. I'm happy that they're raising awareness by being visible, but it does make you nervous for something you may have overlooked. Oh well...

4 patrol boats from Bullfrog to Forgotten is actually very unmanned in my mind on a labor day weekend.

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Those are just ones he saw, they probably had 50 cops in that 10 mile stretch if you count the drones, submarines and the guys in ghillie suits on the cliffs. Imagine how uncomfortable the OP would've been if he knew that.

I have had the same experience with NPS on all my trips this summer. I have seen more of them on the water this summer than ever (good thing), but they seem to be a bit on the vigilante mission. Multiple times this summer they have circled my boat (a couple time i felt they were with the 150' rule) looking for any minor violation to stop me. Once again i am doing nothing wrong, but it makes you feel like your guilty until proven innocent. From being circled, to passing them going the other direction and they swing around and pull on the side and watch you for a bit then turn back around.

I was last on the water last on August 23rd -30th out of APM and it was completely dead. even the dock hands commented on how dead they were and it was unusually slow for even after school starts. I talked to one of the Dock Service managers at APM yesterday and she said Labor day was slower for them then usual...hmmmm.

I have had the same experience with NPS on all my trips this summer. I have seen more of them on the water this summer than ever (good thing), but they seem to be a bit on the vigilante mission. Multiple times this summer they have circled my boat (a couple time i felt they were with the 150' rule) looking for any minor violation to stop me. Once again i am doing nothing wrong, but it makes you feel like your guilty until proven innocent. From being circled, to passing them going the other direction and they swing around and pull on the side and watch you for a bit then turn back around.

I was last on the water last on August 23rd -30th out of APM and it was completely dead. even the dock hands commented on how dead they were and it was unusually slow for even after school starts. I talked to one of the Dock Service managers at APM yesterday and she said Labor day was slower for them then usual...hmmmm.

Seriously? Afraid the rangers are watching your every move? Just waiting to stop your boat for some minor infraction you've forgotten to cover? Circling you like a hardened drug runner off Baja? C'mon. Unreal. I am glad to see those guys. Their mission is to keep us safe, first and foremost. These are the people who come and save you (and/or your family and friends), be it a cardiac arrest, trauma, drowning, or just a cut on your head. These are the people who respond to shootings, boats floundering, put their lives on the line for crap pay, and get the guy in the next camp over on the beach to stop playing rap at midnight. In my experience, the rangers are first and foremost educators. You make it sound like they are going to launch tear gas into your boat. Have some respect.

I have been harassed and treated with no respect on more than one occasion by nps enforcement while working on the lake for ten years so this rosy picture you've painted may be your experience but it certainly is not mine. You make it sound like despite all the negatives these people have to endure, they are somehow immune from having human tendencies. In fact some of those people are pricks and don't deserve to hold the position of authority. Just sayin

Yes Slickrock I am nervous about the NPS these days , I have been going to lake powell since 1979 It just seems that they are creeping around for revenue more then ever. I drive a vintage 1976 Stamas 22 foot boat witch seems to have a magnetic force for them guys. I realize all the good they do as I stated in my post. All I am saying is they are more ticket hungry then ever .

I've had one very positive interaction with NPS in all my years at Powell. A couple neutral. And a handful with a Ranger who must have gotten picked on as a kid, and now liked to show off his authority.

Last year we were fishing near Rincon just after the sun dropped below the cliffs. The NPS was checking boats in the area and approached us. They said we needed to have our nav lights on and asked if we had been drinking. We had not, and told them that. My stern white light pole had been dislodged and lost the previous evening I figured out when frantically searching for it. They were professional and firm. Seems like they used the lights as a reason to engage us to see if we were drinking. Is was still daylight for at least another hour..
Probably their last engagement for the evening that far from the dock..

...They said we needed to have our nav lights on and asked if we had been drinking. We had not, and told them that. My stern white light pole had been dislodged and lost the previous evening I figured out when frantically searching for it. .... Is was still daylight for at least another hour..

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What time was 'official sunset'? If it was past then they are required to be on even though it is still quite bright outside at that time. If it wasn't past then they had no leg to stand on, sea leg or otherwise. Of course it assumes that there was no other reduction in visibility that would mandate their illumination.

Here is some useful trivia and almost still on topic. At least it is still on the subject of night lighting. On another thread there was talk about the phrase "Red, Right, Returning" as it applies to ATONS. That phrase is also very useful at night on the water or in the air for determining whether another boat or aircraft is headed your way. If the Red is on the Right he is Returning to you.

When I was on the San Juan this year 2 Rangers came by and asked me about 2 fire pits on shore within 20 feet of my houseboat. They thought that motor oil was used to kindle the fire. I did not know anything about the pits, since they were there when I anchored. They took note of them, an that was it.

Thanks Squirrel , I certainly am one of those. My last encounter was 4th of July night. My Daughter ,granddaughter, son in lay and I were driving out to watch the fire works next thing I new I was getting stopped , I asked why he was stopping me he really didn't know at first then he saw that I had lights across the back of the back seat , I guess any other lights are illegal after looking thru all my stuff he found that to be an $150 DOLLAR FINE. I wonder some times if they get a commission .

Our local paper has a warning a couple of weeks ago they are cracking down on boaters using headlights at night. A lot of people think the headlights on many boats today are legal at night - they are not since they block a person in other boats on the lake from seeing the red/green navigation lights. The paper also said they were looking for boats with illegal or totally without the 350 degree white light in the stern of the boat. In our case this is due to a number of nighttime boating accidents with fatalities this summer on Havasu, but would not surprise me if this is the case for more than Arizona.